Greetings Shaw Montessori,

PLEASE, take a moment to complete Alternate Income Form. Thank you to the 122 families that have complied, we now need 234 more of you. This funding does affect our child and the children of our sister schools.

We are experiencing a large number of early pickups. Our instructional day runs from 8:45-3:45. Attendance for the entire day is important for your child’s learning. Please check the district calendar here https://www.phxschools.org/district-calendar?cal_date=2026-09-01 before planning doctors/dentists or other appointments that cut into your child’s instructional day. Wednesday early release days are a good time or one of the many vacation/days off.

Wow, what a Bingo Night! Thank you all for the joyous fun. Great battles ensued for the bingo and raffle prizes while the spaghetti was delicious. See photo memories below!

Our next big PTA sponsored event will be our annual Fun Run. Our school wide goal has been set at $90,000.00. Some plans for the use of our earnings are the completion of the sewing corner in the Practical Life room, ORF instruments for our music program, continued support for our athletics, arts, and media center as well as our school garden. For families new to us, when the Montessori program relocated to the Shaw campus, we had 4 trees and some grass. The entire outdoor learning environment has been funded and built through our community fundraising efforts, along with our enriched learning spaces. None of these things are “critical” to our children’s education but are instead highly desirable, helping complete the beauty of the prepared Montessori environments.

Tomorrow, our fall after school enrichment classes begin. Enrollment is still open with many vendors. See links below. I am sure there is something there your child would love!

Monday our Shaw Stars co-ed volleyball team takes on the Garfield Grizzlies at the Hererra Campus located on the corner of 7th Street and Fillmore. Game time is 5:50! Go Stars!

We hope to see you on Wednesday 9/16 from 5:00-6:00 for Passport to Montessori, presented by our primary teachers for our primary parents. Please watch Class Dojo for more information on this night of education from our primary teachers. Our September PTA will be held immediately following from 6:00-7:00 in the cafeteria. Pizza and childcare during the meeting will be provided.

Wishing for rain,

Principal Engdall

The chickens have arrived back on campus, and they’re joined by six baby chicks! Our mature hens are already laying a few eggs each day, and as the chicks grow, we look forward to eventually having even more eggs to supply the Practical Life Room for student cooking.

The incubation project in the garden classroom is continuing as well. At least once a week, students and I candle the eggs together to check their development and viability. It has been a wonderful opportunity for students to observe the incubation process up close and practice careful, hands-on stewardship.

I am also so impressed by the craftsmanship of Ms. Wheelington's Special Projects group—Lauren, Finleigh, Julian, and Aldo. They recently completed a ladder-style roosting perch for the chicken coop using scrap wood. They worked hard together learning how to use a hand saw, power drill, and take accurate measurements.

As temperatures continue to drop, the students and I have our work cut out for us in the gardens! The PreK ODE is getting greener, and over the next week or so, we will be cleaning up and transitioning our wild summer garden into its next season. There is so much to observe, prepare, plant, and learn as we move into our most productive gardening season here in Arizona.

Mark your calendars for Parent Workday on Saturday, October 17!

With care,

Ms. Frances Flowers

Such a blast! Congrats to this year’s Bingo and raffle winners. A special shout out to our amazing check-in-table volunteer team, event set-up and clean up volunteers, middle school helpers, BIngo callers, event host, Ms. Chan’s class, Principal Engdall and Heather Vittori our raffle prize maven! We also want to recognize our generous donors one more time:

PIP Coffee and Clay

AZ Diamondbacks

Desert Botanical Garden

Papago golf course

AZ Cardinals

West Wind Drive-In

Fox restaurants

Pappadeaux

Bearizona

Phx Children's Museum

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

Stand Up Live